Do you all plan your days at Disney??? more

[melissamomof2]

We will be going in May and have read that you should plan out your day. How do I get started doing that? I don't think we are going to do any PS meals. Do you all plan which rides, foods...etc...you will do?

I haven't been there since I was a kid and can't figure out how to plan since I don't know what is there....


Thanks for the help,

Melissa

 

[ltldeb]

We usually plan each day out as far as what parks we'll hit that day and then we'll decide the meals from there. We'll make and PS ressies we might need. Of course, we've been known to change our minds, but for the most part, we stick to the plan.

 

[TandyR]

We do what ltldeb does more or less. We normally only hit one park a day though because of having small kids. So we plan what park we are going to hit that day even if we are doing counter service we talk about were we are going to eat if we plan to eat someplace that needs a PS we do that. But other then that once we are in the parks we just do what looks good to our girls. We do plan in break days also...and we know one break day we hang out in Downtown Disney and the other we normally hang out at Ft. Wilderness sometimes we go check out things in Orlando. So we plan those things also.

 

[DVC4US]

I make a plan every time we go to WDW. As a matter of fact my DH was laughing at me because I was planning our June vacation in November. I do this because we do eat at a lot of restaurants that require PS ressies. I have to know what park we will visit on which days so I can make the ressies.(Also I have to make his golf ressies) Some restaurants you can make ressies 120 days out so it pays to plan. I do not plan what we are going to do while in the park, we just take that as it comes.

If you are looking for information on what is available at WDW there are several places that I find very informational. The web site www.wdwig.com is a great site. Also 2 books - "Passporter to WDW"(which you can get online at www.passporter.com) and the book "The Unioffical Guide to Walt Disney World" (which you can get at your local book store). Even though we have been to WDW quite a few times I read these books everytime for new ideas and tips from other people.

 

[eeyore0062]

1st we get a good guidebook... I would suggest a combination of Passporter and the Unofficial Guide (they give really good iteneraries--- some are very ambitious, though).

Then we see which days offer EE mornings, and depending on whether or not we are staying on or offsite, we plan around them, as to which parks we will hit on what days.

Once that is completed, we figure out which attractions are "must do's" for that day.

After that is complete, then we plan our meals according where we will be, and make our PS. We find having at least one PS per day is good, because then we can count on having at least one meal where we know where we will be and what we will be having.

Then once we get there, we go with the flow.

Planning is half the fun for me... it gets me psyched up for the trip!

Have a great time... and if you get to a park and find it is too crowded for you taste, then hop to another... being flexible is an advantage, as well!

 

[ceecee]

We planned 4 out of the 5 days last year and the four planned days went so much smoother. We have a 6 yr old and enjoy park hopping half way thru the day. Sometimes we go back and swim and eat lunch at the resort and then take off again, if it's going to be a late night. We like Birnbaum's books and used to use those for planning, now we know what we like to do.

 

[Tiggerlover91]

The only planning DH and I do is where we will be eating and what park we are going to. The rides and everything else....parades, exhibits, whatever, just come as it hits us. EE is the big thing for DH and I. We're into the park an hour before offsite guests and usually out of the park no later than 1pm. We also plan our days off so to speak. Last trip we were there for nine days and eight nights, so we decided that two days out of the parks would suit us just fine. We did 2 days in the parks, 1 day in DD, 3 more days in the park, one more day at DD, and then we travelled home the next day. Just do whatever hits you and don't overplan...that can be done!
Have fun no matter what you choose.

~~~Denise

 

[mickeysaver]

I had our last trip planned out pretty well except for not allowing enough time to really do AK. I loved the park, but due to reading over and over again that it was only a half day park, I assumed that I could get away with it. We did flip the day we did MK to earlier in our week since the family decided that they wanted to go to MK instead of MGM as we had been arranging to do for months. But that's another story. -ahem- Anyway, the trip was a blast. We had so much fun. I had a good idea of how I wanted to approach each park by what rides we wanted to do and a rough idea of where we could eat based on where we were in WDW. I love my partner, but she is quite a pickey eater, so I found myself reading through a lot of menus before we travelled. I was pleased with the outcome of my planning overall. The trip could have been better, if there had been less rain from the hurricane that was out in the Gulf during our stay, but we really enjoyed out trip. I used www.wdwig.com to find the majority of the info needed for the planning. This message board and www.disneydollarless.com also helped. Mickey

 

[Ithastobe]

This is or 2nd trip with kids (last was Oct 02) and I've learned a lot!

First trip last Oct, I did a ton of planning. Made our PS ressies with Characters (kids 3 and 4), and pre-bought tickets, and tickets to MNSSHP. Read sites, and got a guidebook so I knew which rides would be too scary for kids, or if they were too little or not.... well, had to to throw it all out the window because the day we left I called for one last shot at Cindy's Table and got them! So this changed which days we planned on going to MK so I spent that a.m. cancelling the other ressies.

Then, our flight was overbooked and we gave up our seats (and got 4 free tickets), but had to fly into Tampa with later flight and 1 hour drive! I spent that afternoon re-arranging car rental pick up, and cancelling our dinner ressies.

I guess I'm sharing this with you, because some times you just gotta go with the flow! This time (we're using our free airline tickets by the way) I'm just getting ressies for one place a day, and I started writing down things on INDEX CARDS (i.e. rides, attractions, park hours etc). That way I can change around the cards if things go haywire!

I made cards color coded for each park, then which rides we can go on based on kids height and age and interest. I make ressies for one per day and this is working for me.

If you have a question, you can always ask on this board. I've been able to do all my planning hearing from the eyes and ears from the many nice people here and their takes on things.

Have fun!!

 

[crusoe2]

I recommend getting a guidebook or two - my favorites are the Passporter and Birnbaum's. Both have park maps and descriptions of all the attractions as well as lots of planning tips. The Birnbaum's book will have actual photos of the resorts and some of the attractions while the Passporter provides room for your own notes and envelopes for any paperwork (like hotel confirmation). I would recommend starting with the Birnbaum's book because I think it gives the most concise overview of the parks. Once you have digested all of that information you will probably be ready for the Passporter (or any of the other guidebooks mentioned already). Reading the Birnbaum's book will probably help with making sense of all the information you get from these boards and from the other guidebooks. Good luck and hope this helps.

 

[cindala]

I go to the Excel program on my computer, and plan out a spreadsheet of our days at WDW.

We try to do one park in the morning, take a pool break, and do a different park in the evening. I try not the schedule the same park two days in a row, but rather try to mix things up a bit. I also put our PS #'s on the spreadsheet.

Once we have a feeling for what parks we will be at which days ( a good guide book can help you pick lesser crowded days for certain parks), we pick out the restaurants we want to eat at. Then we see where they fit in best. Ex: Chef Mickey's would be good to eat dinner at if you are going to MK that night, not say MGM.

We don't plan ride for ride, or show for show, but we make a general list of what we'd all like to accomplish. Things definitely go smoother with a plan than without one. You really just can't wake up in Disney World, and say, "Okay what should we do today?"